FTC Warns Repeat Scam Victims Face Fake Recovery Offers as 25.6% Handle 2 or More Cases
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 4
FTC Warns Repeat Scam Victims Face Fake Recovery Offers as 25.6% Handle 2 or More Cases
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 4
Summary
Scammers are calling and texting recent fraud victims while posing as FTC agents, offering to recover stolen money and sending fake badges to make the pitch look official.
The FTC said the schemes work because criminals keep and trade “sucker lists” with victims’ names, contact details, scam histories and loss amounts, letting a second approach sound credible.
Identity Theft Resource Center data show 25.6% of identity-crime victims were managing two or more incidents at once in 2026, while 62.1% of attempted identity misuse involved new account applications.
Stolen Social Security numbers can keep fueling fraud long after one account is closed, the report said, because unlike a credit card they are rarely replaced and can be reused for loans, jobs or tax filings.
The FTC urged victims not to pay upfront recovery fees, avoid gift cards, crypto and wire transfers, verify agencies through published numbers, and report suspicious offers to ReportFraud.ftc.gov or IC3.gov.